Eagletarian Blog

Donovan McNabb said he expects to be cheered Sunday when he returns to Lincoln Financial Field for the first time since he was traded to the Washington Redskins, at least “until the whistle blows and the game starts.”

“Honestly, I think I will be more cheered,” McNabb said today on his weekly radio show in on ESPN-980 in Washington. “No matter what the situation is, right now I’m with a different team and it’s a rival and it wasn’t my choice. We had a successful 11 years. We had a lot of exciting plays and obviously some down times, but there were more exciting things in 11 years.”

McNabb also reiterated that “I wasn’t the one looking to get out.”

McNabb said he has not yet thought about what his emotions will be on Sunday.

“I truly haven’t,” he said. “Everyone else that I’ve talked to has and rightly so. I’ve been on the other side of the tide with other guys who have come in, Brian Dawkins, Troy Vincent and the list goes on, Jeremiah Trotter …

“I think in this situation, I’ll be open-minded at what happens … Everyone wants to know how I feel, my emotions. I really can’t answer that. Right now, it’s just focusing on playing against the Philadelphia Eagles. I would have an answer for you during the game about my emotions and how I felt during the game. I’m all in here in Washington and looking forward to turning things around.”

McNabb said he understands why people are making it “a bigger story,” but he says these situations have happened before and “as a player, life goes on.”

“I’ve always said that I look at it just like a normal game,” he said. “This is game the Washington Redskins need. It wouldn’t matter if it were the Cowboys or the Giants. After the last two weeks, this is a must-win situation for us. We just look forward to the challenge.”

McNabb said he has spoken with Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb over the last few weeks and hopes to talk to Andy Reid, although Reid indicated he is not allowed to talk to a player on another team, per NFL rules.

“I think this week is going to be the same as us communicating and see how each other is doing and wish each other luck. Nothing out of the ordinary,” McNabb said of talking to Vick and Kolb. “I’ll talk to Andy, congratulate him on the last couple of weeks, find out what he’s having for lunch and dinner.

He said, laughing, “I’m trying to get Sean McDermott’s number to get some clues to what he’s trying to do this game, maybe Asanté Samuel, Trent Cole, Stewart Bradley.”